1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bathtubs and bathtub/shower combinations that satisfy the needs of persons with temporary or permanent disabilities that render use of a conventional bathtub difficult or impossible. In particular, the present invention relates to a bathtub apparatus having a movable front panel and an elevated bed or seat, so that the bathtub can be accessed directly from a wheelchair with only lateral movement.
2. Discussion of Background
Existing bathtubs and bathtub/shower combinations come in a variety of sizes, types and configurations, ranging from older cast iron tubs that are raised on feet, to newer tubs that have oval or rounded rectangular tub recessions set into the tub structure at an angle. Some tubs have built-in Jacuzzi(trademark) or other whirlpool units, heaters, and other devices that add to the user""s comfort and enjoyment.
Despite the growing awareness that large numbers of people simply cannot use conventional bathroom fixtures safely (or even use them at all), essentially all present-day bathrooms contain bathtubs designed for the hypothetical xe2x80x9caveragexe2x80x9d adult. Whatever their age or type, conventional bathtubs have raised walls that the user must step over, or steps that the user must climb in order to use the tub. Many people have temporary or permanent disabilities that render the use of a conventional bathtub difficult or impossible, even with the assistance of a nurse or other caregiver. (As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdisabilityxe2x80x9d refers to any condition, temporary or permanent, that hinders a person""s access to and use of conventional bathtubs and/or showers. Such disabilities include paraplegia, missing limbs, fractures, osteoporosis, impaired balance, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and so forth.) In the United States alone, over six million people routinely use a mobility-assisting device such as crutches, canes, wheelchairs, scooters, and the like; over four million people have difficulty taking a bath or shower; and almost three million need personal assistance in taking a bath or shower. Thus, there is a growing market for universally-accessible bathroom designs, a market that is anticipated to parallel the increase in the average age of the U.S. population and growing awareness of the needs of disabled persons and the elderly. A variety of devices are available to assist disabled persons in bathing, showering, etc., ranging from non-skid surfaces and sturdy grab bars to bath lifts, fixed or swiveling bathtub seats, and tubs with access doors. Presently-available devices include tubs with access doors such as those made by the Silcraft Corporation of Traverse City, Minn. and the Kohler Company of Kohler, Wis.
Bathtub devices are shown in a number of U.S. Patents, including Bourgraf, et al. (Des. 351,018) and Sween (Des. 285,346), which disclose ornamental designs for bathtubs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,614 issued to Appleford, et al. shows a bathtub having a side opening which extends over the full width and height of the bath and is surrounded by an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt. A door with a channel on its inner surface is upwardly translatable in its own plane to bring the door over the opening and force the skirt into sealing engagement with a seal in the channel. The seal may be a foamed rubber seal or a part fluid-filled flexible tube.
McAllister, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,780 disclose a ramp which is pivotable from a generally horizontal position for elevating wheel chairs into a shower or other location to a generally vertical position which uses the ramp to hold shower curtains within the shower. The ramp has a dam which prevents water from running onto the floor.
Sills, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,929) show a bath tub with a main tub body, a door support, a tambour door assembly, a door seal, and a control system. The tambour door is in a horizontal position under the floor when open and in a vertical position closing the open side of the main tub body when closed. The seal includes an inflatable tube.
Sween (U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,400) discloses a bathing tub apparatus that includes a tub with a sealable door, a prefillable reservoir positioned above the tub, and a support unit which includes a storage cabinet, a liquid circulation system, and a hand-held shower. The reservoir is held by the support unit. The Sween device also includes a hand held shower that may be used by the person in the tub.
Williams (U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,241) shows a bathtub with an entrance wall with an opening which conforms to the shape of the door, a front wall adjacent to the entrance wall, a seat located in the tub, and a locking mechanism which can secure the door in an open or closed position. The front edge of the door is attached adjacent to the front wall of the bathtub by a double axis hinge. When the door is opened, its front edge is guided directly inwardly in the tub by a tracking mechanism; the door is configured so that, during movement, it does not swing over the seat.
Corlew (U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,312) provides a bath tub having side walls, a rear wall, an entrance, and a door for closing the entrance. The entrance has a seal engageable with a chamfered inner surface of the door when the door is closed and water pressure is exerted on the seal.
Schenstrõm (U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,693) discloses a tub having an opening extending almost down to the bottom of the tub and a hatch to close the opening. The hatch is placed on the inside of the bathtub and the hydrostatic forces of the water force the hatch against the edges of the opening where a seal is provided on the hatch.
S Houle, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,506) disclose a bathtub with an access opening in one side, and a vertically sliding door to close the access opening, a combination door guide and grab bar arrangement, an adjustable control console, and a power door lock which securely closes the door without significant manual effort.
Budlong (U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,424) provides an auxiliary bathtub mounted above a conventional bathtub, including a rectangular frame approximating the shape of a conventional bathtub and a flexible waterproof liner extending between the side and end walls of the frame and along the inside faces thereof to form a watertight container. At least one of the side walls pivots downwardly to allow entry and exit from the tub, and is held in its upright position by a releasable latching mechanism.
Finch, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,864,762) show an elevated bathtub with a floor supported at approximately normal chair height and a side opening serving as en entryway through one of the walls of the tub. The entryway is provided with a water-tight barrier which may be moved out of the way to permit a person to enter the tub, and replaced once the person is inside the tub.
In addition to the above-described bathtubs, xe2x80x9cwalk-inxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwheel-inxe2x80x9d showers are becomingly increasingly common in hospitals, nursing homes, and even private homes designed for accessibility. However, showers cannot duplicate the therapeutic effects of soaking in a bathtub, and many people simply prefer tub baths to showers. Some estimates suggest that the United States market for accessible bathtubs could easily approach 30,000 or more per year. However, it is believed that presently available bathtub designs do not satisfactorily address the needs of the large and growing population of individuals who cannot use a conventional bathtub.
Many of the above-described bathtubs require more space for doors, tracks, lifts, water reservoirs, and other components than is available in typical bathrooms. Many are also complex, high-maintenance, and prohibitively expensive for all but institutional use.
This invention relates generally to the design and construction of bathtubs and bathtub/shower combinations, and more specifically to the design and construction of bathtubs and bathtub/shower combinations that address the unique needs of persons with disabilities. Appropriate bathtub designs for this group would not only help such persons in an important activity, but also reduce a major occupational hazard of nurses and other caregivers: sprained/strained backs and shoulders that result from assisting patients into and out of conventional bathtubs. The emphasis of the present invention is to provide a bathtub or combination bathtub/shower apparatus that people with disabilities can use to care for themselves and maintain an independent lifestyle (the terms xe2x80x9cbathtub,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cbathtub/shower,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cbathtub apparatusxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbathtub/shower apparatusxe2x80x9d are used interchangeably in the following specification).
A bathtub apparatus that addresses these needs should have the following features:
1. As a baseline criterion, the bathtub must be accessible, without assistance, by a person in a wheelchair.
2. The bathtub should preferably be dimensioned to be comparable to a full-sized, soak-bath type bathtub, and accommodate virtually everyone (except perhaps, a small percentage of the population due to size or weight considerations). The user should be able to access and control the water temperature, flow rate, and drain.
3. The bathtub should be capable of being installed in a typical bathroom, either as a new installation or retrofitted to an existing unit.
4. The bathtub should be usable by substantially all persons. Non-disabled users (that is, those without conditions that restrict their access to conventional tubs and showers) should be able to use the bathtub to bathe and/or shower in a normal manner; disabled users should be able to bathe and/or shower with minimal risk of falling.
5. The bathtub must be cost-effective and easily installed.
Designing such a bathtub apparatus requires an understanding that, for a person with disabilities, bathingxe2x80x94or being bathedxe2x80x94involves not just the act of bathing itself (i.e., the act of immersing a person in a liquid for cleaning). It also encompasses people-handling in the psychological and physiopsychological sense: understanding and accommodating the desire for independence, dignity, safety, and security, combined in many instances with a reluctance to ask others for help.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,727, entitled xe2x80x9cBathtub for Persons With Digabilities,xe2x80x9d I disclose a bathtub apparatus with a pivotable front panel and an elevated bed that allows direct lateral access by the user (that is, a user can access the bathtub directly by stepping into the open tub, sitting on the seat and moving his or her feet into the tub, or sliding from a wheelchair to the seat). The bathtub can be installed in a new or remodeled bathroom. It can also be installed above an existing conventional bathtub, thereby avoiding the necessity of removing the old tub before installing the new one.
Despite the variety of presently-available bathtubs of various shapes and sizes, and of varying accessibility, there is a continuing need for a cost-effective, maximally-accessible tub which can be installed in new or existing bathrooms in residential, commercial (hotel, motel, etc.) and institutional (hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, etc.) settings.
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present invention is an accessible bathtub apparatus having a floor panel, a wall panel, a movable front panel or door panel that can be opened to permit access into (and out of) the bathtub, a door seal, and pivotable connectors operable to move the door panel from a first, open position to a second, closed position. One end of the floor panel forms a stationary, raised tub bed or seat on which the user""s back or buttocks rest; the other end forms a foot well. The wall panel, which is preferably integrally formed with the floor panel, may include head, rear, and foot panels (also termed xe2x80x9cend wallsxe2x80x9d) analogous to those found in conventional bathtubs. The floor panel, the wall panel, and the movable front panel cooperate to form a liquid-containing enclosure. The apparatus, hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cAlden""s Tubxe2x80x9d or the xe2x80x9cATI Tub,xe2x80x9d permits direct lateral movement by the user to and from the tub bed: a nondisabled user can access the apparatus directly by stepping into the open tub; a disabled or nondisabled user can sit down on the seat and move his feet into the tub; a disabled user can slide from a wheel-chair to the seat. These modes of access are referred to herein as xe2x80x9cdirect access,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cdirect lateral access,xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cdirect lateral movement.xe2x80x9d
The apparatus can be provided as a stand-alone model which is generally similar to a conventional bathtub/shower or bathtub/shower combination. A drop-in model which is installed in a platform base (similarly to installation of a kitchen sink in a cut-out or recess in a kitchen counter), but is otherwise similar to the stand-alone type. A portable model which can be installed on an existing conventional bathtub such as those typically found in private homes, hotel or motel rooms, and other facilities, thereby avoiding the necessity (and expense) of removing the old tub before installing the new one. The invention can be used in private homes, hotels and motels, dormitories, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other locations; it can be used by persons with disabilities that would otherwise preclude them from bathing unattended or unassisted.
Its versatility and cost-effectiveness constitute major features of the present invention. Most bathrooms, either new or existing, have been designed to utilize either right-handed or left-handed bathtubs (i.e., bathtubs having plumbing fixtures and drainage either at the right or left side as the user faces the tub); some have centrally located plumbing. Existing bathtubs and bathtub/shower combinations come in a wide variety of sizes, types and configurations, some having built-in Jacuzzi(trademark) or other whirlpool units, water heaters, and other devices intended to add to the user""s comfort and convenience. The ATI Tub can be installed instead of another type of bathtub; alternatively, it can be retro-fittedxe2x80x94permanently or temporarilyxe2x80x94to the vast majority of presently-existing bathtubs. Because the ATI Tub has no xe2x80x9chandedness,xe2x80x9d it can be used with either left-handed or right-handed plumbing fixtures.
As will be seen in the Detailed Description, the ATI Tub is simpler to manufacture and requires less materials and labor than other known designs, therefore resulting in a more cost-effective product. The ability to quickly and easily install the ATI Tub over an existing conventional bathtub reduces installation costs, since there is no need to demolish and remove the old tub before installing the new one.
An important feature of the present invention is the movable front, door panel which permits direct lateral access by the user. The front panel may extend the full length of the ATI Tub or only a portion of the length, and may take a number of different forms to permit it to be moveable and sealable relative to the stationary parts of the tub as will be described in detail below.
Depending on the needs and preferences of the user, the front panel may be bottom-hinged for a fold-up/fold down motion, side-hinged for lateral swing-out/swing-in motion, a banker""s roll-top desk type of panel, a pivotable panel that pivots up or down about a pivot point away from the panel itself, or a parallelogram type panel utilizing two lever arms and pivot points at the ends of the tub. A variety of different type of seals may conveniently be used with the invention, including but not limited to compression-type seals such as are used with refrigerator doors, pneumatically-inflatable or hydraulically-inflatable seals, and diaphragm-type seals. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the front panel is pivotable between its open and closed positions. Retainers, spring-loaded pivots, or other suitable devices hold the front panel in its open position during ingress and egress by the user.
Another feature of the present invention is the elevated tub bed, which is at a comfortable seating height when the bathtub is installed. Typical heights are approximately 15xe2x80x3-16xe2x80x3 (about 38-41 cm) above floor level, although heights outside this range may also be useful. This feature permits a person to move laterally to and from the ATI Tub from a wheelchair, for example, by sliding (with assistance if needed) from the wheelchair onto the tub bed.
Still another feature of the present invention is the foot well, which is preferably located at the same end of the ATI Tub where the water valves, nozzle, and drain would be located in a conventional bathtub. The foot well may be approximately 24xe2x80x3xc3x9724xe2x80x3 (about 61xc3x9761 cm) in horizontal dimensions and approximately 12xe2x80x3 (about 30 cm) deep, and serves several functions: (a) it increases the effective length of the ATI Tub for tall users so that all portions of the body, including the knees, can be submerged; and (b) it permits non-disabled users to both bathe and shower in a conventional manner.
Yet another feature of the present invention is the ability to fit it to an existing bathtub. Many conventional bathtubs have one or more ledges at the sides or back, together with a front wall which a user must step over to access the tub. In tubs having adequate ledges, recesses, or other structural features for support, the invention can be installed so that the enclosure rests on the ledges. Supplemental longitudinal and lateral supports, expanded plastic foam, or other devices may be used to fix it permanently in position. Alternatively, the invention may be supported by brackets attached to the existing tub and/or the surrounding walls. Pallets that interface the invention to the existing tub, filler materials, or shims may also be used where appropriate.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments presented below and accompanied by the drawings.